Missing women in Indian university leadership: Barriers and facilitators

Abstract

Gender diversity and equality in the workplace has been much researched and spoken about in the corporate sector but the higher education sector in India remains largely untouched by it, probably because women seemingly far outnumber men in the teaching fraternity. However, data also suggests that most women in the higher education sector remain restricted to middle-ranking posts, rising as high as heads of department, deans, controller of examination and even registrars but hardly ever becoming vice-chancellors. In a sector which has traditionally attracted many women as their preferred career choice, lack of an adequate talent pool cannot be the answer. This paper is a study exploring the barriers and enablers for women academicians’ ascent to leadership roles. It also presents strategies to close this gap and facilitate pathways for women to hold leadership roles in Indian universities. This paper is one of the first few on women’s leadership in Indian universities.